1
as in curious
interested in what is not one's own business
as we moved into our new home, we could sense that there were prying eyes watching us
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in busy
thrusting oneself where one is not welcome or invited
prying neighbors who refuse to mind their own business
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in questioning
Related Words
Dissimilar Words
1
as in pulling
to raise, move, or pull apart with or as if with a lever
it took some effort to pry up the trap door
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in yanking
to draw out by force or with effort
a vain attempt to pry the cork out of a wine bottle
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in interfering
to interest oneself in what is not one's concern
don't go prying into other people's business
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of prying
Nicholas Ivor Martin and Jacobina Martin, oregonlive, 4 Feb. 2023
But inquiring into the specifics of familial dynamics is impudent and prying — and a line of questioning that most people would be happy to avoid answering themselves.
—Jacobina Martin, Washington Post, 4 Feb. 2023
The Google Nest Hub (7/10, WIRED Recommends) is a great smart display with no camera (and therefore no risk of unwanted prying eyes).
—Brenda Stolyar and Medea Giordano, WIRED, 28 Nov. 2022
To my mind, however, there’s a difference between a Google or a Facebook, which provide valuable services in return for their prying eyes, and an app that serves a single, ostensibly benign purpose — parking validation.
—Los Angeles Times, 12 Nov. 2021
Carry two phones While anti-spy software may be effective in staving off the prying eyes of the Chinese government, not everyone knows how to install it.
—Jane Li, Quartz, 6 Aug. 2019
Its purpose: to train librarians to implement secure protocols on their own web services, and to teach members of the community to evade the prying eyes of governments, corporations, and criminal hackers.
—Eoin O'Carroll, The Christian Science Monitor, 18 Oct. 2017
One reason Russians have loaded up on passports is that Cypriot citizenship helps them avoid the prying eyes of their government and pay lower taxes.
—Yalman Onaran, Bloomberg.com, 11 May 2017
Anthony Robledo, USA Today, 2 June 2026
With that said, the game has managed to rack up an impressive five million sales in under a month, developing a dedicated fanbase that's been probing and prying at the game's engine, with delightful and sometimes unexpected results.
—Alan Bradley, Space.com, 16 Apr. 2026
Palm Springs Has Still Got It This desert enclave has long been many things at once—a spa town, a sanctuary away from Hollywood's prying eyes, a design capital, a shoo-in for winter sun.
—Jason Sheeler, Condé Nast Traveler, 20 Feb. 2026
But in the quietest corner of the 10-acre sanctuary, away from the public’s prying eyes, a cohort of most unusual occupants sleep.
—Shi En Kim, AZCentral.com, 20 Feb. 2026
Videos of the shooting have spread online and appear to show Good, 37, being told to get out of her car, with one agent walking and prying at the door handle.
—Melissa Gomez, Los Angeles Times, 8 Jan. 2026
That was what led the princess to send her staff away and sneak the BBC crew in for the interview, isolating herself in the face of Bashir’s prying questions.
—Theresa Braine, Mercury News, 26 Nov. 2025
The New Jersey native also teased some new music on the way after some prying from Hudson.
—Michael Saponara, Billboard, 28 Oct. 2025
The prying end also serves as a nail puller, box cutter and bottle opener.
—Ben Coxworth
october 07, New Atlas, 7 Oct. 2025
Richard Edwards, Space.com, 9 June 2026
Three days after announcing the hire of Chris MacFarland as their new hockey boss after somehow prying him out of Colorado, the club announced the hiring of Rob Blake as executive vice president of hockey operations on Friday.
—Pierre Lebrun, New York Times, 5 June 2026
Without prying into your personal life, is the album a story of going from being single to not being single?
—Brian Hiatt, Rolling Stone, 4 June 2026
Its Duplicate Finder clears clutter, advanced renaming options make your files easy to track, and military-grade encryption protects everything from prying eyes.
—Stackcommerce Team, PC Magazine, 28 May 2026
That doesn’t mean robbing Billy of his shot at prying open Homelander’s skull, but with only a symbolic solution to Trump’s authoritarian rise — love conquers all!
—Ben Travers, IndieWire, 20 May 2026
These evergreen or deciduous shrubs protect your garden oasis from prying eyes and create a sense of solitude.
—Kim Toscano, Southern Living, 14 May 2026
There’s still all this nonsense about the temptation of the female body, and the need for nuns to shield themselves from prying eyes.
—Literary Hub, 7 May 2026
The attendant and one of the passengers worked together at prying open the baggage compartment door while the other passenger crawled around the floor, searching in the thick smoke for a cellphone to try to use as a flashlight, according to the statement transcripts.
—Angie Dimichele, Sun Sentinel, 24 Apr. 2026
Adjective
But inquiring into the specifics of familial dynamics is impudent and prying -- and a line of questioning that most people would be happy to avoid answering themselves.
—Nicholas Ivor Martin and Jacobina Martin, oregonlive, 4 Feb. 2023
But inquiring into the specifics of familial dynamics is impudent and prying — and a line of questioning that most people would be happy to avoid answering themselves.
—Jacobina Martin, Washington Post, 4 Feb. 2023
The Google Nest Hub (7/10, WIRED Recommends) is a great smart display with no camera (and therefore no risk of unwanted prying eyes).
—Brenda Stolyar and Medea Giordano, WIRED, 28 Nov. 2022
To my mind, however, there’s a difference between a Google or a Facebook, which provide valuable services in return for their prying eyes, and an app that serves a single, ostensibly benign purpose — parking validation.
—Los Angeles Times, 12 Nov. 2021
Carry two phones While anti-spy software may be effective in staving off the prying eyes of the Chinese government, not everyone knows how to install it.
—Jane Li, Quartz, 6 Aug. 2019
Its purpose: to train librarians to implement secure protocols on their own web services, and to teach members of the community to evade the prying eyes of governments, corporations, and criminal hackers.
—Eoin O'Carroll, The Christian Science Monitor, 18 Oct. 2017
One reason Russians have loaded up on passports is that Cypriot citizenship helps them avoid the prying eyes of their government and pay lower taxes.
—Yalman Onaran, Bloomberg.com, 11 May 2017
Noun
Following Guthrie's prying, Lopez eventually caved in with a concrete answer.
—Anthony Robledo, USA Today, 2 June 2026
With that said, the game has managed to rack up an impressive five million sales in under a month, developing a dedicated fanbase that's been probing and prying at the game's engine, with delightful and sometimes unexpected results.
—Alan Bradley, Space.com, 16 Apr. 2026
Palm Springs Has Still Got It This desert enclave has long been many things at once—a spa town, a sanctuary away from Hollywood's prying eyes, a design capital, a shoo-in for winter sun.
—Jason Sheeler, Condé Nast Traveler, 20 Feb. 2026
But in the quietest corner of the 10-acre sanctuary, away from the public’s prying eyes, a cohort of most unusual occupants sleep.
—Shi En Kim, AZCentral.com, 20 Feb. 2026
Videos of the shooting have spread online and appear to show Good, 37, being told to get out of her car, with one agent walking and prying at the door handle.
—Melissa Gomez, Los Angeles Times, 8 Jan. 2026
That was what led the princess to send her staff away and sneak the BBC crew in for the interview, isolating herself in the face of Bashir’s prying questions.
—Theresa Braine, Mercury News, 26 Nov. 2025
The New Jersey native also teased some new music on the way after some prying from Hudson.
—Michael Saponara, Billboard, 28 Oct. 2025
The prying end also serves as a nail puller, box cutter and bottle opener.
—Ben Coxworth
october 07, New Atlas, 7 Oct. 2025
Verb
Even remakes and adaptations of centuries-old novels are kept away from prying eyes, forgetting that everybody can look up the ending of every story ever told on Wikipedia.
—Richard Edwards, Space.com, 9 June 2026
Three days after announcing the hire of Chris MacFarland as their new hockey boss after somehow prying him out of Colorado, the club announced the hiring of Rob Blake as executive vice president of hockey operations on Friday.
—Pierre Lebrun, New York Times, 5 June 2026
Without prying into your personal life, is the album a story of going from being single to not being single?
—Brian Hiatt, Rolling Stone, 4 June 2026
Its Duplicate Finder clears clutter, advanced renaming options make your files easy to track, and military-grade encryption protects everything from prying eyes.
—Stackcommerce Team, PC Magazine, 28 May 2026
That doesn’t mean robbing Billy of his shot at prying open Homelander’s skull, but with only a symbolic solution to Trump’s authoritarian rise — love conquers all!
—Ben Travers, IndieWire, 20 May 2026
These evergreen or deciduous shrubs protect your garden oasis from prying eyes and create a sense of solitude.
—Kim Toscano, Southern Living, 14 May 2026
There’s still all this nonsense about the temptation of the female body, and the need for nuns to shield themselves from prying eyes.
—Literary Hub, 7 May 2026
The attendant and one of the passengers worked together at prying open the baggage compartment door while the other passenger crawled around the floor, searching in the thick smoke for a cellphone to try to use as a flashlight, according to the statement transcripts.
—Angie Dimichele, Sun Sentinel, 24 Apr. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for prying
Adjective
-
For example, if a user is curious about when an upcoming concert is, the user may ask Siri for the date and time.—
Greta Cross,
USA Today,
8 June 2026
-
An event like FuelFest, Walker said, can be formative in fostering a lifelong passion and creative outlet for car-curious children.—
Christopher Buchanan,
Los Angeles Times,
8 June 2026
Adjective
-
Visitors from around the world now regularly stop in, and Cook says that drag in her hometown has never been busier.—
Arati Menon,
Condé Nast Traveler,
7 June 2026
-
From a viral sand cat to an airport explosives arrest, the Sacramento region saw a busy stretch of news in early June.—
Ruyuan Li. Summary produced by AI assistance,
Sacbee.com,
6 June 2026
Noun
-
Bailey, despite frequent questioning by reporters, has not identified what his own plan would be to keep the Bears.—
Jeremy Gorner,
Chicago Tribune,
6 June 2026
-
Arriving officers found a woman outside a home who matched the description of a possible suspect and took her into custody for questioning, Gonzalez said.—
Kansas City Star,
Kansas City Star,
4 June 2026
Verb
-
If the plant was root bound in its pot, consider pulling it out of the ground, loosening up the roots so water can penetrate, and replanting it.—
Brandee Gruener,
Southern Living,
7 June 2026
-
The mother of a security guard killed while working at a Deep Ellum nightclub last month has filed a lawsuit against the club and the man accused of pulling the trigger.—
Erin Jones,
CBS News,
6 June 2026
Verb
-
There are stories of major Nashville players yanking him off the street, keeping him drunk for days in hotels, then leaving Knoxville with stacks of new songs.—
Jonathan Rowe,
SPIN,
1 June 2026
-
Since early May, companies that used the dry milk powder in their food products have been yanking those products on the concern they might be contaminated with salmonella.—
David J. Neal,
Miami Herald,
31 May 2026
Verb
-
The game was not yet codified, and teachers let students organize games without interfering in their play.—
Thomas Adam,
The Conversation,
29 May 2026
-
She was sentenced — correctly — for interfering in an election in her county and for allowing unauthorized access to the voting equipment, not for expressing her personal opinion.—
DP Opinion,
Denver Post,
20 May 2026
Adjective
-
At 6 years old, little Ronny Howard got cast in The Andy Griffith Show as Opie, Sheriff Taylor’s inquisitive son.—
Declan Gallagher,
Entertainment Weekly,
7 June 2026
-
Filmed in Haiti‘s northern Cap-Haïtien region, the movie follows Ruben, a young man (Stevenson Jean) who embarks on a journey to reconnect with his estranged father, accompanied by an inquisitive street kid (Blangue Machiny).—
Stewart Clarke,
Deadline,
4 June 2026
Adjective
-
Poor reputation likely stems from a combination of the chemical’s greasy feel, intrusive smell and name, which is similar to DDT.—
BestReviews,
Mercury News,
3 June 2026
-
Pauses present not only a greater risk of intrusive thoughts, but also a greater opportunity to recalibrate after the hyper-arousal state of playing a point at full intensity, or experiencing the emotional high or low of winning a set or having their serve broken.—
Charlotte Harpur,
New York Times,
3 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Prying.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/prying. Accessed 13 Jun. 2026.
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